Pull-switch for wall-boxes.



F. BARR. PULL SWITCH FOR WALL BOXES.

' APPLICATION IILED JAN.17, 1911. 0 4 422 Patented June 10, 1913'.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l. Z2971.

P. BARR.

PULL SWITCH FOR WALL BOXES. APELIGATION FILED JAN. 17, 1911.

1,064,422. Patented June 10,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v 0 W Jay/ Z lllll I i mmm,"ii, W 4 s nmmm 0 g '0 "I9 v 1 nmzifi$ 5 n i Z I 9 c/z 7i v .11 Wimesses Invenfor FnEnEnIc BARR, OF NEW YORK, N. 'Y.

PULL-SWITCH non WALL-BOXES.

I specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The present invention relates to electricalapparatus and particularlyto wall-box pullswitches and involves a special constructihn for the insulating body of theswitch and details of the mechanism.

It contemplates the application of the principle of the pull-switch tothe wall-box type, doing'away entirely with the pushbuttonoperation in common use in wallswitches.

To facilitate the application of the spindle to=the insulating body, the body in the present invention is made with a chamber opening upon one edge of the body next the faceplate' of the wall-box, and the body is made with a detachable cover upon one side of the chamber, the main block of the switch and such cover each. being provided with a bearing for one end of the rocker-segmentspindle.

The invention includesqvarious other details of construction, which will be under? stood by reference to the annexed drawing,

' in which- Figure 1 is a front View of a wall-boxswitch embodying my invention; Fig. 1 is a plan of the switch ready for application to the wall-box; Fig 2 is an elevation of the switch and theQcoVer-pIate in the outline of a wall-box; Fig. 3' shows the inner side of the'body-block for the. switch with the cover removed; Fig.4 is a plan of such body-block, and Fig. 5a plan or edge view of the cover 3 "Fig. 6 shows the inner side of the cover,

Fig'..:7 a section of the switch, where cross hatched, on line -'7 in Fig. 3; Fig. 7 1s a; plan: of one ofi the binding-posts ;"Fig. 8 is. a

perspective view ofthe body-block; Fig. 9 is a persp'ective view of the insulating switch- 56 cover; Fig. 10 is an elevation .ofi the switch withthe cover removed-;:Fig. 1-1 ls a vertical cross section of the switch; Fig. 1s aplan Specification of-Letters Patent. Application filed January 1'1, 1911. Serial No. (363,079.

,Patented June 10, 1913.

and Fig. 13 an elevation of the rotatable spindle-bearing with ratcheteteeth thereon; Fig. l l'shows the under side of the rocker se ment with the parts bent into their final position to engage-a ball of the chain; Fig. l 15 is a plan of the rocker-segment with the ear having two tongues to engage the ballchain cut. therefrom, but not bent into their final position; Fig. 16 is an edge view of the rocker-segment showing the. chain engaged -,with the tongue; Fig. 17 is' a perspective view of the insulating disk with metal ratchet-plate; and Fig. 18 is a cross section, of the insulating disk.

The body-block A and the cover 13 are de signed .to be made of porcelain or other suitable material. The cover issecured to 'the body byserews B with nuts-inserted in recesses B upon the bodyeblock, (see Fig. 3). The top of the body-blocki's-providedawith recess -A" (see Fig. 8), to receive-a bridge C having an aperture C in the center for the passage of a pull-chain. The bridge is; secured to the body-blocklby screws C inserted in the body-block. i

The body-block'has a rectangular chamber A? open upon one edge (shown at the top in 3), and a wallet one side of the chamber, and the opposite side formedby the cover The cover has a bearing 6 for tacts d'and binding-posts e are'mounted on V are intersected by screws f extended through V the cover (see Fig. 7

The binding-posts are at the upper. edges 1 of the cover so as to e readily accessible. The feet of the binding-posts are made to hold the switch-contacts firmly in place by making the contacts with reflexed feet, as shown in Fig. 7, and forming notches e in the edges-ofthe feet 6 upon the bindingr posts, to passover the elbows of the springcontacts d, thus bringing the feet of the binding-posts on to of therfeeFol se'tlia t the screws 1 press t em firmly thereon and '1 hold the switch-contacts in place while mainsingle screw f. thus holds the switch-contact ,and its connected binding-posts in their op- 'erative positions;

Thefeet d and e are held securely inone end of the spindle a, and switch-con the cover by feet d and 6 respectively which 85 taining an electrical contact therewith. A

position upon the cover 18 by a circular ridge Z2 and a segmental flange a at opposite sides of the feet, notches nbeing formed between the ridge 6 and fla ge c to receive. the feet snugly. The switchfixtures lie within the chamber A with the spindle c transverse to ,the cover and the opposite wall of the chamber; and the rocker-segment g which is attached-to the spindle is oscillated by the chain H which extends therefrom through the open side of the chamber and through a projecting A. spindle-bearingE is fitted movably to the seat D and has. radial arms or ratchet-teeth k to engage the teeth in the socket F. An

insulating-disk Z is fitted movably to the spindle below the rocker-segment and is provided upon its under side with two I spring-leaves n attached to a circular plate n, so that when the leaves touch the contacts d the circuit may be connectedthrou gh such contact-s.

The usual insulatingsections or seats d are formed upon the cover between the switch-contacts d to support the spring.

leaves 71. when not resting upon the contacts d. A "spiral-spring m; is applied to; the

spindle between the rocker-segment g and the bearing E for retracting the rocker-seg ment after each pull of the chain One end of the spring is engaged, 'as shown in Fig. 7, with a flange upon the end of the bearing'E, and the other end'is extended to the edge of the rocker-segment to press thereon. The s iral tension of the s ring operates to osci late the segment, Whl e its longitudinal tension operates to press the hearing E outwardly and to press the leafsprings n upon the contacts (5 or seatsd The rocker-segment is shown provided at its opposite ends'with lugs g and the wall of the chamber upon thebodyeblockis rovided with two stops 0 and o, with w ich the lugs g contact to re late the oscillating movement of the rec er-segment.

A special provision is made for attaching the end of the ball-chain H, to. the rockersegment g, by means of a sheet-metal ear ;0 punched from an aperture p in' the segment near one end of the same, asshown in Fig. 15, and bent at right ahgles ,to the plane of'the segment, as shown inFi 14, and provided with two tongues (1 re exed backwardly toward such end of the segment and separated by a slot 9'. The-end ball upon the chain H is readilyinserted between the two tongues by thepassage between the two tongues of the neck between the balls. When thus engaged with the mega-a2 tongues, the ball is held in place by a prong 0* formed upon theear 'p and bent over the. rear side ofthe ball. to hold it between the four.

tongues. The rocker-segment has ratchet-teeth 8 arranged to engage ratchetteeth upon the insulating-disk Z, and the lugs g and .the' stops 0,0 are so arranged, as shown in Fig. 10, as to permit a movement of the rocker-segment through an arc of-about 90 degrees, so as to shift the spring- 7 leaves. at, as is usual, alternately over the contacts (Z or the seats d 1 The bridge C upon the switch is the means for attaching it to a wall-box, by

screws passed through holes t or t in the ends of the bridge, and the bridge is providedalsolwith an arm which is secured by a screw 0 to the edge of the cover opposite that .which is held by the screws B.

The bridge difi'ers from those used upon ordinary wall-box switches, in having the central aperture C which permits the passage of the chain from the open side of the chamber A into a mouth z'upon the usual face-plate G. The outer end. of the mouth is curled or flanged over so as to form a curved guide for the chain direction it may be pulled.

Fig. 2' shows the rocker-segment in dotted lines, and the chain pulled to turn'the segment against the stop '0 while Fig. 10 shows the rocker-segment retracted bythe springm into contact with the stop 0. The chain in its. movements is guarded from any contact with the circuit-making springs 03 or n by the segmental flange 0', which is extended from the cover to the nearest edge of the insulating-disk Z, as shown in Fig. 11. The outer edge of the disk is beveled or grooved to incline the chain toward the flat'side of the rocker-segment g, and all the id e of the guard-flange 0', which thus springs which carry the el ctric current. To lead the circuit termina s or conductors I to the binding-posts from the inlets of the wall-box, a groove J is madein the edge of the bodyat each end of the cover B, terminating close to the clamp-screws on the. binding-posts. The bridge 0 and its arm C are both fitted snuly into the notches" in whichever movements of the chain are carried over the ds it close to the rocker-segment and prevents it effectively iiiomtouching the A, in the outer edge 0 the body andcover,

and their fit in such recesses holds vall the parts firmly from displacement.

Two constructions for the insulating'disk are showmin one of which, shown in Fig. 18, the ratchet-teeth u are formed directly in the substance of the insulating disk to engage the teeth 841F011 the rocker-segment.

The other construction is shown in Fig. 17

where a shallow recess 'v is formed in the upper side of the insulating disk of suifiv cient depth to admit a. sheet-metal plate 120 with ratchet-teeth 'v' bent thereoninto corcured to the body A b the screws C is also secured to the si e plate B by the bolt rated by loosening 0 The two parts of the base may be sepathe screws and bolt referred to. The face plate G is detachably secured to the base by being screwed to thebridge-piece G; The switch is operated by pulling on the chain throu h the guide 6'. When the chain is pulle the segment g is rotated and by means of this ratchet connection with the insulating disk Zrotatesthe disk andthe contact plate a with the contact. arms a, a. When the chain is released the spring m returns the segment 9' but the disk Z and contact plate do'not rotate backward. Repeated pulls on the chain 11 the contact member step by ste .making and breaking'the circuit across t e switc contacts d, d. The circuit terminals 6, 6 being carried by the insulating side plate Bthe parts'can be readily reached for assembling, adjustment and repair as the same may be necessary;

. a spindle supported therein, switch contacts Having time set invention what is claimed herein is:

1. In a pull swltch an insulating base,

on oppo site sides of said spindle, circuit terminals secured to said contacts, an cecillating lever on said spindle, an operating chain secured to said lever, a guard flange projecting from said base around the outer edges of said contacts between said circuit terminals, and a front plate having a guide passage for said than 2. In a pull switch, an insulating base, a Spindle supported thereby, switch contacts carried by said base, .an oscillating lever on said spindle, an o' crating chain secured to said lever, a bri ge plate secured to said base, and a'box secured to said brid plate and surrounding and inclosing said base and having a guld'e passage for the chain at the front. I

3. In a pull-switch having switch-fixtures with a spindle and seats with bearings for the said spindle, and a rocker-segment and 'chain for actuating such fixtures, the combination, with the'spindle and one of the bearings fitted to rotate and to move length- H which extends oscillate the segment 9 and thus rotate the disk landforth the nature of thewise in its seat, of a spiral spring fitted to the spindle and engaging the rocker-segment and the said bearing, the hearing being movable lengthwise in its seat in opposition to the extension of the spring, and havin a ratchet-connection with its seat, where y the hearing may be turned to tighten the spring and the ratchet-parts held in engagement by the extensidn of the spring. Q

' 4. In a pull. switch, an insulating switch base in two parts with a chamber open at the front, a spindle transverse to the chamber, switch contacts and circuit terminals carried by one part of the base on opposite sides'of said spindle, Said ircuit terminals having binding posts at the front of the base-and saidbase having grooves in its ends and front leading to said posts and an operating chain passin through the opening at the frontv of the base. 5. In a pull switch, an insulating body,

contacts and a spindle. therein, an msulating disk on said spindle flaring outwardly toward said contacts, an oscillating lever adapted to turn said disk step by step and an operating chain secured to the outer end of said lever, the flaring of said disk tending to cause said" chain to draw away from said contacts when the chain is pulled.

6. "In a pull switch, an oscillating lever comprising a ratchet portion, a flange portion, arms integrally connectingthe flange and ratchet portions and .a chain-engaging member integrally connected with the inner edge of said flange and comprising two .prongs spaced apart from each other to pass-between the two end balls of a chain and a third prong to engage around the A outer surface of the end ball of the chain and an operatin chain having its and ball held between sald three prongs.

7. A pull-switch for a wall-box, having a rectangular body with the chamber opening at the front edge of the bod for the passage of the chain, a remova le cover forming the wall at one side of the chamber, a spindle extended across the chamber with hearings in the said body and cover andmeans for oscillating the spindle andconnecting and disconnecting switch-contacts, recesses at opposite sides of the spindle-bearing in the cover, circuit-connectionblocks havingfeet extended into said recesses, reflexed segmental switch-springs having feet extended under the feet of the connection-blocks, and screws passing through the cover and 'feet of the segments blocks,. to secure the segmental contactsin place.

8, A pull-switch for a wall-box, having a body with a chamber. therein open .at one edge of'the body, a bridge secured on the and engaging thefeet of the connection- I pull-chain foroperating the .7 cover detachable from Y i and the body and the a central opening for the passage of having a wall-plate with means for a chain, and

5 securing it upon the said bridge and provided with a guide passage to support the chain when pulled in any direction. 9. A pull-switch for a wall-box, having a body with a chamber opening upon bne edge of thebody for the passage of a chain,-mea'ns for securing the body in a wall-box having apertures for circuit terminals, switch-fixtures within the chamber and a pull-chain for operating the-same, a face-plate with aperture for the passage of the chain, one side of the-body being'detachable. from. the remainder of the body at one side of the chamber with binding-posts at one edge and switch-contacts on the cover, and grooves J in the edges of the body at the joint of the cover for leading the conductors to the Eircuit terminals to the binding-posts. 10. A. pull-switch for a wall-box, having a body with, a chamberopening at the front edge of the body for the passage of a chain, means for securing the body in a wall-box, switch-fiatures within the chamber and a same, a cover detachable from the body at one side of the chamber, a bridge secured upon the body across the opening of the chamber with 'a central aperture for the passage of a chain, and the said bridge having an arm extending over the edge of the cover and engaged therewith, substantially as herein set forth.

11. In a pull-switch for a wall-box, having a body with a chamber opening at the front edge of the body for the passage of a chain, switch -mechanism in the chamber with a chain for actuating the same and a the body at one side of the chamber, the combination, with such" parts, of a bridge extended over the body across ,the opening of the chamber with a central aperture for the passage of the chain, the said bridge having an arm extending over the edge of the, cover, means for securing th bridge upon the body and the cover, cover havin notches A in the surface adapted to fit the ridge.

'12. The combinationof a two-part insulating switch base in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped with an interior chamber open at'the front, a-pullrswitch located thereinand a front plate having a guide passage for the operating chain. I 13. The combination of an insulating switch base in the form-of a rectangular" parallelepiped with an interior chamber open at thefront, a pull switclilocated @therein 'and .a front plate havinga guide passage for the operating chain.

14. Therombination of a two-part insulating switch basein the form of a reccured to both of said ncense f tangular parallelepiped with an interior chamber open at the front, a pull switch located therein and a front plate having a guide passage for 7 part constituting the body and having flanges extending around three edges and the other part fitting the said flanges and constituting aside plate.

15. In a wall switch, a two-partginsulat mg base comprising a body having an interior chamber for the switch mechanism and a detachable side, a bridge secured to said body and 'to said side and having a passage for the pull chain and also having means for attaching a face plate.

l6. Ihe combination .of a two-part insulating base having an interior chamber for the switchmechanism, a bridge piece separts and a face plate secured to said bridge piece and having a guide passage for the operating chain,

the operating chain, one

17. In awall switch, a two-part insul at- 4 ing base having an switch mechanism, circuit terminals secured to one of said parts, said parts having grooves on opposite edges for the conductors leading to said circuit terminals.

18. In a wall switch, the combination of an insulating means for adjustably securing the parts together, said parts having between them a chamber for the switch mechanism, switch contacts and circuit terminals carriedby one of said parts between said parts, a ro tating switch member mounted between said parts and a face plate having a guide passage and a chain extending" through said guide passage and operatively connected with the switch mechanism.

- 19. In an electric switch, an insulatingcarrying block-having a chamber open at the front and formed of a body member and a side plate member, a switch contact car-/ ried by said plate member, a circuit terminal connected to said contact and carried by said plate memberand having a binding screw exposed at the front of said block, a rotary switch .member coacting with said switch contact, a ratchet member, a pull.

chain for operating said ratchet member, said insulating body member having flanges formed so as to house said switch contact base formed in two parts,

interior chamberfor the and ratchet member and cover part of said I circuit terminal and preventing said pull chain from contacting with said circuit terminal'and means for holding thev parts of said insulating carrying block together.

20. In a pull switch, a two-part insulating block, switch mechanism carried between the two parts and including aspiridle, a movable switch member mounted on mounted on said spindle for rotating said switch member s p by step, a spiral spring 1-25 said. spindle, a ratchet operating lever on said spindle having one end engaging said ratchet lever, one part of said insulating block having an opening extending throughit in axial alinement with said spindle, an adjustable abutment in said opening adapted to rotate and also adapted to be moved lengthwise in said opening, said ad-- justable abutment and said insulating block having cooperating ratchet teeth adjacent said opening, the other end of said spring being connected to said adjustable abutment whereby said adjustable abutment may be rotated for adjusting said spring and said ratchet teeth will cause said abutment to be automatically moved lengthwise Whensaid abutment is rotated. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIC BARR.

Witnesses:

LL LEE, THOMAS S. CRANE. 

